2 Marines face trial in Haditha killings

A Marine lieutenant colonel and a lance corporal have been ordered to stand trial on charges stemming from the 2005 killing of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, the Marine Corps announced Friday.

Of eight initial defendants in the case, the two are the only ones who have been ordered to court-martial. The case constitutes the largest number of civilian deaths of any alleged abuse case involving Marines in Iraq.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, a former battalion commander, will face a court-martial on charges of dereliction of duty and failing to obey a direct order in not ordering a full-scale investigation into whether the killings constituted a war crime.

Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, who made the court-martial decisions, followed the recommendation of a hearing officer and dismissed murder charges against Tatum.

Four enlisted Marines were initially accused of murder in the case, but charges have been dropped against two and remain pending against the other. Of four officers initially charged with dereliction of duty, charges have been dropped against two and remain pending against a third.

Chessani, 42, of Colorado, was commander of the 3rd battalion, 1st Marine regiment. Tatum, 26, of Edmond, Okla., was a veteran of the bloody fighting in Fallujah in late 2004.

Mattis, who will leave Camp Pendleton soon to assume another command, has yet to announce his decision about Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who was the squad leader and initially charged with 12 counts of unpremeditated murder. A hearing officer has recommended that Wuterich face a lesser number of negligent homicide charges, but Mattis is not bound by the recommendation.

In sending Tatum to court-martial, Mattis rejected a recommendation by Lt. Col. Paul Ware, the hearing officer, to dismiss the entire case against Tatum.

During his preliminary hearing, Tatum made a tearful statement of regret for the deaths of Iraqi civilians but said he was only firing at "shapes" in a dimly lighted room and was unaware that women and children were in the line of fire.